Assembling machine



Sept. 15, 1942. J. B. CURTIS ET AL, 2,295,776

ASSEMBLING MACHINE Filed May 1s, 1939 4 'sheets-sheet 1 s w 6 .M a, m. K u a N s um@ o r o n E R M N N .a V m n C p d n Sm w Em w B M m A Sm N N F Nt NR.. i @Ww A I H M M ...n l u w W W Y a B I I Lmwli n NSM. bm NQ. l NQ w MS 1U:

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ASSEMBLING MACHINE Filed May 13, 1939 i Sheets-Sheet 2 RN S.

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ASSEMBLING MACHINE Filed May 15. 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 W/L FREQ l//Wo afi/719 B Y Ww www u@ ATTOR EFS WARM-1v d? ffm/0.4.06'

Patented Sept. 15, 1942 ASSEMBLING MACHINE John B. Curtis, Nichols, and Wilfred V. Mounts and Warren S. Reynolds, Stratford, Conn., assignors to Remington Arms Company, Inc., a corporation of Delaware Application May 13, 1939, Serial No. 273,400

9 Claims.

Our invention relates to a machine to facilitate the assembling of the conventional pocket knife. These knives may be of the vfolding type with blades at both ends, 0r only at one end, in which there are tensioning springs the length of the handle for holding the blades in place when open or closed. The machine is so arranged that an operator can assemble the various parts quickly and easily to meet :the needs of modern produc'- tion methods. In general, the machine provides Ya rest for the parts ofthe knife during assembly in such a manner thatv the component parts are placed upon assembly pins which serve to position the several Vparts together before fastening. These pins, which are part of the machine, are spring-pressed and thepermanent rivets can be inserted in the holes loccupied by these pins by means of a lever and suitable guides holding the rivet pins, the rivet pin forcing the springpressed pin out of its Vhole in the knife elementsV as the rivet pin is forced into place in said hole.

It is t0 be understood, however, that any other type of fastening means .can be inserted by the machine, such as a screw, for example. A

As the spring element in the conventional pocket knife is under tension, -i't is clear that it must be forced into place so that the iinal rivet can be put in to hold the knife in assembled relation and that such is vdiflicult with so `many parts to be held. The invention described herein shows one means ,of doing this wherein a suitable finger applies the proper pressure to the spring, thus aligning the rivet holes to allow the final rivet pin to ybe put `into .positione'asily There* has also ybeen provided `a safety guard With a transparent `face for the machine. This safety guard is so arranged that itis .lifted out of place while .the parts are being positioned in the machine by hand, and covers these .parts as the press pushes the rivet pins into place. The guard prevents injury to the worker from iiying pieces and also prevents yoperation of 4,the press if the guard is not entirely in its safe position, thereby protecting the hands of Vthe person assembling the knife.

lit can readily be seen that itis diflicult to assemble such a knife with this type of spring, which requires considerable force to put it into position so that the rivets can be driven through, particularly when there are numerous pieces to beheld in place. From the following description, in which is disclosed one embodiment of the invention and the details thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention most nearly pertains, how the foregoing objects are accomplished.

` In `the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan View of one form of the apparatus for carrying out the invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation, with some `of the parts in section (looking toward the right side `of .the operator 0f the `apparatus of Fig. 1).

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the assembling jigs (looking in the same direction as Fig. 2).

Fig. 4 is a secondary elevation View taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. 2 which clearly shows the aligning pins.

Fig. 5 is a. perspective view of an outside scale of a knife with the handle and bolsters assembled thereto.

Fig. 5a is a perspective View of one of the knife springs with a fragmentary View of one of the blades held in its relative position with respect to `the spring.

Fig. 5b is a perspective view of a middle scale of a knife.

Fig. 5c is similar to Fig. 5a.

`5d is Vsimilar to Fig. 5.

Fig. 5e isa perspective view of one of the rivet pins .to be used in assembling the parts shown in Figs. 5 to 5d inclusive.

Fig. 6 is a simplified vievr ofthe pin driving lever and Vsafety guard lever showing them in raised position.

Similar characters refer to throughout the drawings.

In general the machine comprises a frame which supports the various parts vof the device and which is in turn supported on a table of suitable height. Referring to Fig. 2 of the drawings, a table top l0 supports the frame 26 which is secured tightly thereto by bolts Il and I2. A pin driving lever Il (Figs. 1 and 2) has bosses 1.92 .through which a fulcrum shaft |93 extends. This shaft is journaled in ears |94 which extend upwardly from the base portion 2li) of the frame. The table is cut away to permit a downwardly extending portion |05 of the pin driving lever to extend below the table top where it is secured by appropriate boblts |65 and lill to a foot operated lever IEiS and a counterweight m3. In the interest of brevity the foot lever and `counter- Weight are not shown. The counterweight generally comprises a cylindrical mass of metal having an extending arm which, as shown in the drawings, is bolted to part H35. The foot lever is merely a bar, usually of wrought iron, drilled to .receive .the securing bolts IGS `and I'l at the top and having a laterally extended foot rest or similar parts receiving piece at or near its bottom (not shown). The pin driving lever has a forwardly extending portion 110 upon which there is a boss 11| in which is anchored a laterally extending pin 112. This boss and pin are a portion of a safety arrangement which will be discussed later. The pin driving lever is shaped at its forward extremity so that it may receive various tools or jigs carrying driving pins, it being understood that the type of jig or tool depends upon the type of knife being assembled, the chief variation being in the location of the driving pins in the same.

The forward portion of the frame is also arranged as shown at 211 (Fig. 2) to receive vari.- ous fixtures or jigs, depending upon thetype of knife being assembled. The frame has bosses 212 and 213 (Fig. 1) in which is journaled an eccentric carrying shaft 214. A hub 215 secured to one end of this shaft and a collar 216 carrying a set screw 211 maintain this shaft in position. The hub 215 is secured to the said shaft by a pin 218, and is Idrilled to receive an operating lever 219. As will be clear from Fig. 3, there is a projecting pin 22| in the collar 215. This pin cooperates with a pin 220 in the frame 20 to limit the rotation of the shaft 214. It is evident that the operating lever could also be mounted on the other side of the machine by a mere reversal of the position of the related parts just described.

A bell crank lever 30| (Figs. l, 2 and 3) is pivotably mounted on the forward portion of the frame 20 by means of a shaft 302 which operates as a stub shaft extending through a boss -on the said lever and an ear 222 on the frame. A nut 303 cooperates with the head 304 on the shaft 302 to secure the parts in proper position and relation. One arm of the bell cranio lever 301 extends back under the frame as shown at 305, and is apertured at 300 to receive one end of a spring 301, which spring, having its other end anchored to the frame by means of a web 308 between apertures 300 and 310, serves to maintain the lever in what, for con venience, may be called its retracted position. The upper surface 311 of this portion of the lever is in contact with an eccentric 312 mounted on the shaft 214. The eccentric has a flat side 313 which permits a faster and further movement of the lever, which will be explained hereinafter.

The tool block 314 is carried on the upper surface of the vertical arm of bell crank lever 301 by means of bolt 316 entering a threaded hole in said vertical arm. The enlarged hole in the tool block for bolt 316 allows adjustment of the block by set screw 311. The tool block has an upper surface 313 engaging guide holder 401 at 411 to hold the same in place when the guide holder 401 is in its position shown in Fig. 2. The tool block has projecting pieces 315 thereon for entering the opening in the knife or the outside of the spring to engage the spring to bring the holes in alignment so that the pin can be inserted. The shape and number of these projections are varied in accordance with the knife to be assembled as will be described in more detail later.

Referring now to Fig. 3, it will be seen that the frame 20 carries a die bed 40| having upright ears 402 and 403. These ears are threaded to receive taper point pivoting screws indicated at 403 and 404 in Fig. 1. These screws carry locknuts 405 and 406,- respectively. They maintain the guide holder 401 in a pivoting arrangement. The guide holder is most clearly shown in Fig. 3, but the manner in which it is secured to the ears on the die bed is more clearly shown in Fig. 1, in which the points 408 and 453 are shown as extending into the drilled portions 400 and 410 of the guide holder. Secured to the bottom of the die bed is a channel-shaped member 41| which carries a plurality of aligning pins, 451, 452, 453 (Fig. 4). These aligning pins are surrounded by springs 413 which in a normal position cause the pin to extend through apertures 414 in the die bed. The springs acting on shoulders 413 urge the pins upwardly.

Attention is now directed to Fig. 4, where a locating stop 415 is secured to the die bed 40| by means of a bolt 416. Although Fig. 4 shows three aligning pins 451, 452, 453, it is to be understood that these are not all used at one time. If a knife having blades on both ends is being assembled, then the central aligning pin is removed or fixed in retracted and inoperative position. If the knife is one having blades only on one end such as that resulting from assembling the parts shown in Fig. 5, one of the end aligning pins is kept retracted.

Assuming that the parts shown in Fig. 5 are to be assembled to produce a complete knife, aligning pin 453 in Fig. 4 will be removed or retracted. One side of the knife, for example 50|, is placed on the die bed with the aligning pin points 45| and 452 extending through the holes 551 and 552. It will be understood that the exterior of the side of the knife is in contact with the die bed plate. The locating stop 415 assists the operator in locating and maintaining the knife side in its proper position. The guide holder 401 has been laid back or pivotably rotated on the points 408 and 458 back from the position shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. With the part 501 located on the pin points 451 and 452, a spring 511 is laid on top of the side 50| with the point 45| extending through the aperture 561. In the assembly of this type of knife, for example, with blades at one end only, the cutting edges of the blades are placed toward the left in Fig. 2 and the outside of the spring or closed side of the knife is toward the right for reasons that will appear presently. A blade 512 is either simultaneously or later placed in a position to co-act with the spring 511 by having its pivoting aperture 562 placed about the point 452. There is a tendency for a blade after being placed in such position to tilt or fall out of position because its only point of securement is at one end of the aperture 552. To avoid this and to free the hands of the operator for other matters, a plate 31 (Figs. 3 and 4) is secured to one side of the die bed. The extending portion of the blade lies on the plate and as a result, has no tendency to fall off of the pin point 452. The plate 31 is secured to the frame 20 in any manner desired, as for example, by screws, bolts, or welding. With the spring 511 and blade 512 in assembled position, an operator now places a dividing piece, or what is cornmonly known in the art as a scale 521, over them on the aligning pin points. Holes 51| and 512 receive the aligning pin points 451 and 452, respectively. A second spring 531 and blade 532 are now placed over the aforementioned scale and aligning pin point 451 extending through the aperture 531 and the aligning point 452 extending through the aperture 582. The other side of the knife 541 is now positioned over the other parts. It has drilled holes 59| and 592 which receive the aligning pin'points 145| and 452, respectively. It can be seen that with the springs 'aligned on a common pivot or pin at the center, and the blades tending'fto push the end of the spring adjacent thereto outward, that the holes =at thel other endsy of the springs will not be aligned vwith the other holes ofthe-knife parts nor with the plunger4|5. These ends of the'spring will be to the left (Fig. 2) ofthe? holes in `the remaining parts of the knife through which a rivet passes vin the finally assembled knife, fIn the `knife illustrated, the sides or covers 50| and 54| have the usualbolstering end portions '502, v503, 504 and 4505, inside of which are inlay sections 506 and'501 which may be of wood, bone, plastic or the like.

`With all of the partsv mounted on the aligning pin points 45|and 452, the guide holder=`401 is pulled forward sothat it overlies the stack of knife parts. This is the position which it occupies in Figs. v2, 3 and 4. A movement of the lever 2I9 (Figs. 1 and 2) causes the eccentric 3|2 (Fig. 1) :to force the rearwardly` projecting `portion of the lever 30| downwardly. As a-result the toolhead 3|4 moves to the right in Fig. 2, and a projecting portion 3|8 contacts recessed portion 4I'I, thereby pressing the stack of knife parts more closely together and more or less locking them in such a position. The three upwardly extending cylindrical portions 4I3, 4I9 and'420 are hollow and in alignment with the points on the aligning pins. In the assembly being described, the aligning pin points 45| and 452 extend into drilled holes which extend'through portions 4|S and 420 of the guide holder. The operator places rivet pins II in the proper guide holes H8-420, which in the case of the single ended knife being described will be in guides 4I9 and 420. At this stage the operator pushes backwardly on the foot rest portion of the lever |09. By reason of this lever pivoting on the shaft |03, the driving head moves downwardly and the pins ||3, ||4 and ||5 enter the guides 420, 4|9 and 4|8 respectively (Fig. 4). A pin ||4 extends into the guide 4I9, contacting the rivet pin I I. Continued downward movement of the head of the pin driving lever forces any knife rivet pins such as I I in the guides into contact with the aligning pin points such as 45|, and still Vfurther movement forces the knife pins through the knife assembly (in the place ofthe aligning pinpoints such as 45|). The t of the knife pins'is very tight, so that the aligning .pinsprings 4I3 are not able to force the aligning ,pins upwardly again so long as the knife remains Ain its position in the assembling tools.

Reference to Fig. 5 and the precedingportion of the specification will make it clear that as yet there is no knife pin extending through apertures-553, 563, 533, 583 and593. As explained previously, the reason for this is that the springs 5I I and 53| are shaped so that theirapertues 553 and 583 do not, in the absence of strain, register with the apertures 553, 51.3, andv 593. No spring action would be exercised if they were shaped to fit in the `knife assembly inthe same way as scale 52 I.

It is also evident that the knifepins may be driven into place with the guide holder 402 merely lying on top of the knife parts before the lever 2|9 vhas been operated to clamp the .parts in place, said lever2I9 being operated to clamp the knife parts after the first set of pins havebeen put into position. A projection 223 may..also be placed on arm ISI, such that it will contact plate 401 and hold the'knife partsrmly togetheras the pins are being driven, :the lever 2|9 Vthen l being operated to clamp the plate 401 against the knife parts beforepressure on the footleveris released to allow |0| to move upwardly.

Ha-ving secured the knife partsby means of pins extending through the apertures 55|, 56|, 51|, 58| and-59|, 552, 562, 572, 582 and 592,-respectively, the operator now releases the pressure on the foot receiving portion of the pin driving lever IDI, with the result that the counterweight |09 raises the lever out of pin driving position. When the upstanding arm of bell crank lever 30| moves to the right (Fig. 2) clamping the guide holder on `top of the sta-ck of knife parts, another action takes place. The projecting pieces 3 I5 on the block 3 I4, being appropriately positioned, move forward into the spaces on opposite sides of the scale 52|. Their shape and size is such that they contact the springs 5|I and'53I (at the right end in Fig. 5), placing them under stress and moving the springs outwardly in the knife frame. This follows since these springs were already pivoted at 58| and 539, respectively, and could only pivot a short distance because position of the knife blades SI2 and`532 was fixed by the apertures 552 and 532, and Ysaid bladesrestrained movement of the opposite ends of the springs. The action -of the projecting pieces SI5, in straining the springs out of normal, causes the apertures 553- and 583 to become aligned with the apertures 553,513 and 533. The operator now places a rivet pin in the .guide 4 I8, and by another foot'movement of the lever |00, IBI causes the rivet pin to be driven through the knife parts. Thereaften'by relieving the foot pressure, lever IOI moves out of position, and by moving the lever 2 I9 in the direction opposite from thatl previously described the arm 30| moves 3|8 toward the operator (or tothe left in Fig. 2), releasing the guide holder 45?. The guide holder is then lifted, being pivoted on the points .408 and458, out of position, and the assembled knife lifted from the die bed. This last action removes the pressure on the sp1*ngs4|3, and as a result the pins 45| and 452 are moved upwardly,l thereby placing the aligning pin points of 45| and 452 in position to receive the parts of another knife. It will be understood that the rivet pins, such as I I, project from opposite sides of the assembled knife, and that the excess pin material is removed by suitable cutting and swaging operation which smooths the end of the pin so that its surface is continuous with that of the bolster through which it projects.

In a manner similar to this, if the knife is of the variety having blades at each end, the two outer pins 452 and 453 are used, the knife blade edges in this case facing to the right in Fig. V2 and the outside of the spring to the left. In this instance the shape of the springs is such that the holes for the pin in the middle lie farther from the center of the knife than the central aligned holes of the other parts of the knife. The projecting pieces3|5 are then so designed as to push against the outside faces of the springs, thereby forcing them in, so that the middle rivet pin can be placed into position. It can be seen that the outer ends of the springs will then be forced against the knife blades. The component parts of the knife are laid in place, including the springs. VIt will be noted that the spring in this type of knife has only a4 hole in the center, and therefore when the first rivetk pins at each end are put in place, they do not go through the springs. The'springs must, however, be in their respective positions and are fastened in place by the nal rivet pin as described.

The provision of safety means on the device is in accord with present factory practice to protect the worker, and a suitable device of this character is shown in the drawings. In Fig. 2 there is shown a safety shield 60| of transparent material, for example, Celluloid, cellulose acetate, polymerized methyl methacrylate or other plastic or plastic material. This transparent shield enables the operator to observe the action of the assembling device and at the same time protects the said operator from ying particles. The operators hands are also protected as it is necessary that his hands be away from the pin operating lever as its stroke nears completion, because the presence of a foreign object will prevent the safety shield from completely shielding the work, as will appear presently. The shield is secured by suitable screws to arms 662 and 603 which, together With the shield, form a device somewhat resembling a horseshoe inshape. The free ends of this U-shaped device are suitably secured to brackets on the frame near the back of the same. In Fig. 1 screws 604 and 605 are shown as extending through the parts 602 and 603 into suitable brackets. One of these brackets is shown more in detail in Figs. 2 and 6, where it is indicated by the numeral 606. Bolts 601 secure this bracket to the frame. An irregularly shaped piece 608 is secured' to the arm 602 on this side of the apparatus by means of screws 609, and this piece serves as an extension of the arm 602 to contain the hole through which the bolt shaft 604 extends into the bracket. A pin 6|@ (Figs. 1 and 6) extends inwardly from the piece 608 over the edge of the pin driving lever I|. Movement of the pin driving lever upwardly causes it to contact this pin and raise the safety shield 60| from its'protecting position. Downward movement of the pin driving lever does not carry the safety shield with it because there is no positive connection between the two. Ordinarily the safety shield and its supporting arms fall to protecting position of their own weight when the pin 6|0 is released by the downward movement of the pin driving lever |0|. Downward movement of the safety shield causes the portion 6H to move so that when the shield is all the way down, the pin H2 on the pin driving lever |0| can pass by it as the lever |0| is operated. If this action does not take place, the pin H2 contacts the part 608 and its further movement is blocked, thereby preventing operation of the pin driving lever unless the safety shield is in position.

In Fig. 6 can be seen the relation of these parts when the pin driving lever |0| is raised, contacting pin 6|0 and raising the safety shield. As is shown, the centers of 664 and |03 are different so that pin H2 now overlies 608 and it is necessary for the safety shield, carried on 603, to be substantially fully in protecting position in order for pin H2 to pass by 608. If such is not the case, pin |2 will engage 608 and be prevented from going down. Thus it can be seen that the operators hands must be away from the pin driving lever as it cornes down, or that the safety shield be completely in operative position so that the safety shield is in safety position before the pin driving lever can complete its stroke.

As previously indicated, there is an eccentric 3|2 on the shaft 2M. Rotation of the shaft 2|4 by means of the lever 2|9 causes the inwardly projecting end of the lever 30| to be lowered or to allow it to be raised (by means of the spring 301) as the case may be. In order that the tool head 3M on the other end of the lever 30| may be brought into operative position and released therefrom more rapidly than would be the case with a conventional eccentric, one side of the eccentric shown has been flattened as indicated at- 3l3. This permits an acceleration of movement during the last part of the travel indicated as the tool head is being moved into inoperative position.

It is to be understood that the particular arrangement of the die head and the spring tensioning projecting pieces or other means to put pressure on the spring is not limited to the disclosure herein, which is merely an example of the invention as applied to the knife of the configuration shown. The die head and related parts can be made of any desired shape to fit the knife to be assembled as can also the tool head. The positioning member and location and number of the rivet pins control the corresponding dies and design of the machine, and is not limited to that shown. A knife with any number of rivet pins can be assembled by the method disclosed, as the machine can have as many pins and guides as desired. It is also clear that a knife with one or more layers of blades can be assembled on a machine of the type described.

The invention is not limited to the details shown herein, described in the drawings and illustrated, but is to be construed as covering all equivalent devices falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine for assembling pocket knives comprising a spring and other parts to be assembled, the combination of a frame, a die bed fixed to said frame and having at least two locating pins upon which to assemble the unstressed spring and other parts, means pivotally mounted on said die bed for inserting permanent pins in place of the said locating pins, means pivotally mounted on said frame and movable transversely to said die bed to stress the knife spring, and means pivotally mounted on said frame and movable substantially vertically relative to said pin inserting means and said die bed to insert a nal permanent pin while the spring is so stressed.

2. In a machine for assembling pocket knives comprising a spring and other parts to be assembled, the combination of a frame, a die bed iiXed to said frame and having at least two loeating pins for holding the parts and the unstressed spring in place, means to hold the parts so assembled in place, said holding means including Iguide means to insert ypermanent pins in place of said locating pins, means .pivotally mounted on said frame and movable transversely to said die bed to stress the spring, and means pivotally mounted on said frame and movable substantially vertically relative to said holding means and said die bed to insert a nal permanent pin while the spring is so stressed.

3. In a machine for assembling pocket knives comprising a spring and other parts to be assem'bled, the combination of a frame, an apertured die bed xed to said frame having at least two retractable pins in said apertures for guiding the assembly of the unstressed spring and the other parts, means pivotally mounted on said a-pertured die bed for inserting permanent pins in place of the retractable pins, means pivotally mounted on said frame and movable transversely to said die bed to stress the spring, and means pivotally mounted on said frame and movable substantially vertically relative to said pin inserting means and said apertured die Ibed to insert -a final permanent pin while the spring is so stressed.

4. In a machine for assembling pocket knives comprising a spring, permanent pins, and other parts to be assembled; the combination of a frame member, a die bed fixed to said frame member and having at least two retractable pins upon which to assemble the parts, the unstressed spring being in place, a movable jig means pivotally mounted on said die bed having apertured guides in -alignment with the retractable pins, the guides being adapted to support the permanent pins in end-to-end contact with the retractable pins, pressing means pivotally mounted on said frame and movable substantially vertically relative to said jig and said die bed to insert the permanent pins into position in the knife, there- .by causing the permanent pins to replace the retractable pins, means pivotally mounted on said frame and movable transversely to said jig to stress the spring, said ypressing means cooperating also with another apertured guide on the movable jig means aligned with the nal knife pin hole for inserting the final permanent pin While the spring is so stressed.

5. In a machine for assembling pocket knives comprising a spring, permanent pins, and other parts to be assembled; the combination of a frame member, an apertured die bed xed to said frame member and having at least two retractable pins in said apertures upon which to assemble the parts, the unstressed spring being in place, a swinging jig means mounted on said die bed for holding said parts and s-pring in position, apertured guides on the jig means in alignment with the retractable pins adapted to guide the permanent pins into position in the knife, pressing means pivotally mounted on said frame and movable substantially vertically relative to said swinging jig and cooperating with the guides so as to insert the permanent pins in place of the retractable pins in the knife parts upon operation of the .pressing means, means to stress the spring including an arm pivotally mounted on said frame with projections thereon adapted to move transversely to said die bed, one of said projections cooperating with the swinging jig means to hold the same in :place on top of the knife parts.

6. In a machine for assembling pocket knives of different types comprising a spring, permanent pins, and other parts to be assembled; the combination of a frame, an apertured die bed fixed to said frame and having a plurality of retractable pins, certain of said retractable pins being adapted to receive said parts in assembled relation on said die bed with said unstressed spring in place, the retractable pins used being selected according to the type of knife to be assembled, a movable jig means mounted on said die bed having apertured guides in alignment with the retractable pins and adapted to support the permanent pins in end-to-end contact with the retractable pins, pressing means pivotally mounted on said frame and movable substantially vertically relative to said movable jig adapted to insert the permanent pins into position in the knife thereby causing the permanent pins to replace the retractable pins, means lpivotally mounted on said frame and movable transversely to said die bed to stress the spring, and an additional apertured guide on the movable jig means aligned with the final knife vpin hole and `cooperating with said pressing means for inserting the nal permanent pin while the spring is so stressed.

7. In a machine for assembling pocket knives of different types comprising springs, permanent pins, and parts varying with the knife; the combination of a frame, an apertured die bed fixed to said frame and having a plurality of retractable pins in said apertures, certain of said retractable pins being adapted to receive said parts in assembled relation on said die bed with said unstressed spring in place, movable jig means mounted on said die bed having apertured guides in alignment with the retractable pins, the guide being adapted to guide the permanent pins into position in the knife, driving means pivotally mounted on said frame and movable substantially vertically relative to said guide and said die lbed adapted to insert the permanent pins into .position in the knife. replacing the retractable pins in f the knife parts, means pivotally mounted on said Iframe adapted to receive a tool movable transversely to said die xbed for stressing the springs, the tool being shaped in accordance with the type of the knife being assembled, and an additional apertured guide on the movable jig means aligned with the nal knife -pin holes for inserting the nal permanent pin while the spring is so stressed.

8. In a machine having a pivoted operating lever with an arcuate movement, a safety guard for covering the working end of said operating lever when the lever is approaching its operating position, said safety guard being carried on a lever pivoted between the operating lever pivot and said working end thereof, the safety guard 4lever having -a pin cooperating with the top of the operating lever so that the safety guard is raised with the operating lever, a pin on the operating lever cooperating with a projection on the safety guard lever, the relative positions of the pivots being such that the said operating lever pin will not clear the said projection to allow the operating lever to complete its working stroke until the safety guard is in place.

9. In a machine for assembling pocket knives comprising a spring and other parts to be assembled; the combination of a frame, an apertured die bed fixed to said frame and having `at least two locating pins retractable in said apertures for holding the parts and unstressed spring in place, means pivotally mounted on said die bed for inserting permanent pins in place of said loeating pins, said means also holding the knife spring and parts in position, means to hold the spring and ,parts securely in place, said means being .provided with additional means to simultaneously stress the spring, and means pivotally mounted on said frame and movable substantially vertically relative to said pin inserting means and said die bed to insert a nal permanent pin while the spring is stressed.

JOHN B. CURTIS. WILFRED V. MOUNTS. WARREN S. REYNOLDS. 

